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Fihdal

The Fihdal tribe of Men is the dominant nation of Men in Chronikos. Their tongue, also called Fihdal, is sometimes known as the Common tongue and is used mainly as a trade language. The Fihdal owe much of their prosperity to the fact that they hold the most fertile farming land in Chronikos, and over the centuries have built up an impressive military to protect what is theirs. No doubt their dominance is also sustained by the presence of the powerful Orders of Jehiel and Chiel. The priests of Jehiel are heavily involved in political affairs, but not, as some have criticized, for worldly gain and dominion. They seek to set up a kingdom for Jehiel in Chronikos, a kingdom of wisdom and peace and light. The presence of the priestesses of Chiel and the High Temple in the Forest of Song serves as a girdle of goodness surrounding the city. Not to say there is no crime in Blitendale, but it is significantly less than that of other cities of Men. In its infancy, the Fihdal kingdom found the defense of the Chiel priestesses against warring and invading tribes of Men invaluable. These priestesses are thus highly honored in the kingdom. The Fihdal kingdom is ruled by a hereditary monarch, descended in a direct line from their first king, Fihdal, who renamed himself Darian I. Fihdal was the brother of Vadal, and it was over Fihdal's Jarad wife that the brothers split, each forming his own nation. Vadal turned to mining, while Fihdal embraced an agrarian way of life. The two nations trade heavily with each other now, but up until a couple centuries ago, they warred with each other. Such animosity, their respective leaders say, has been put behind them, but suspicion and ancestral hatred still linger among the common men. The Fihdal also trade with the Larenai, the Arkastanai, and the Lefhanor.

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